Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

FightingWesterner Civil War hero Robert Taylor returns to his people to Wyoming, only to find his valley ranch fair game for white homesteaders and himself, as an Indian, ineligible to claim his own land, leading to a violent confrontation.An unusual (and unusually grim) western, here the Indians are the cowboys and the villains sheep-farmers, the nemesis of cowboys everywhere. Although the ending is painfully obvious early on, getting there is compelling and heartbreaking, with the film perfectly capturing the anger and despair of not just native people, but anyone who plays by the rules and finds himself ground under the wheels of progress.Although not as well known as Anthony Mann's western collaborations with star James Stewart, this one also knows what buttons to push and delivers an action-packed climax, as well as good performances from Taylor and Paula Raymond, as a lady attorney who takes up his case.

doug-balch This movie is a hidden gem. Directed by Anthony Mann, it was probably the first "Civil Rights" Western that went "all in" in terms of presenting the Indian point of view. At the same time, Mann's intensity and fundamental dark view of mankind keep it from becoming condescending or maudlin. Pretty impressive to take this theme on so aggressively a full four years before the "Brown vs. Board of Education" Supreme Court decision kicked off the modern Civil Rights movement.Here are some of the pluses:This is an absolutely terrific performance by Robert Taylor, all the more impressive since it's hard to imagine him playing a full blooded Shoshone Indian. He pulls it off in spades. I haven't seen every Robert Taylor movie, but I can't believe he ever had a better part. Even more impressive, this is an ultra-liberal movie and in real life Taylor was a well known right wing kook. Now that's acting!!This is in black and white, but the movie has a fantastic look and feel to it. Mann's superior direction and creative camera angles jump out at you.One of my favorite Western themes, the Civil War tie-in, is prominent. Lance Poole is a decorated Union Army veteran who returns home to confront racism. In 1950, this is clearly a metaphor for the plight black WW2 veterans returning to the Jim Crow South.It is well plotted. Everything makes sense, is plausible and all the character's motivations are consistent and logical (not something you find in all Anthony Mann Westerns. See my review of "The Man From Laramie").In most cases, the love interest in Westerns is blatantly gratuitous. Orrie Masters, nicely played by Paula Raymond, is written solidly into the script as a sympathetic lawyer. Of course, the movie is once again way ahead of its time with its portrayal of a professional woman.An excellent portrayal of the Shoshones and their plight.Absolutely fantastic Montana location shoot. A shame it wasn't in color.The negatives in this movie are very minor:The problem with going "all in" Indian point of view is that it is inherently depressing.Could have used a stronger supporting cast. Louis Calhern is good as the heavy, but this part could have been stronger.No room for comic relief in the dark world of Anthony Mann. All that stops this from devolving into a lugubrious depress-fest is the edgy plot, good action scenes and Taylor's compelling performance.

Garranlahan Robert Taylor, a Hollywood workhorse if there ever was one, NEVER in over 30 years on the screen, put in a bad performance or one in which he failed to give everything he had--from heavily romantic roles, to fatuous 1930s comedies to Westerns to Toga & Sandal monstrosities to crime dramas and---you name it. And always to the level best of his ability. William Wellman, a crack director and one very, very tough and world-experienced hombre, said Taylor was the finest man he ever knew. But the problem Taylor faced in The Devil's Doorway was absolutely insurmontable, even for him. American Indians are Asiatics (which is abundantly clear from the many Indian faces which appear in the movie (not including his father, played by a Caucasian)). No one in the whole wide world looks less Asiatic or more Caucasian than Robert Taylor (with the possible exception of Burt Lancaster, who also, moronically, got saddled with a Noble Indian role). Indeed, in the original version of this movie, which was in color, blue-eyed Robert Taylor had the dubious distinction of playing the only full-blooded blue-eyed Shoshone in the history of the world. Throughout the movie all the experienced moviegoer could think while watching it was "There's Ol' Bob Taylor in blackface." It was like watching Louis Armstrong in whiteface. Ridiculous. Also, his English was without accent and clearly educated, upper-middle class White (mirroring what Taylor in fact was)---how could that possibly be?---while his Shoshone was limited to a few barked, incomplete commands. Nevertheless, Taylor did his usual faultless, yeoman-like job against hopeless credibility odds. The photography was outstanding, Paula Raymond---who, by the way, could not, as a woman, have been licensed to practice law---was breathtakingly beautiful (what ever happened to her?), and Louis Calhern, as always, was excellent. As for the story, that is something else again. Childish, good-guy spirit-loving, earth-loving Indians versus bad-guy avaricious, violent Caucasians. Yawn. That is not the way it was. The Indians did all but teach university-level courses in Violence and Avarice---which they practiced extensively on one another before and after the arrival of the Whites. But that's for another time.

jenny6664 I made a copy of this movie when I saw it online. It was NOT, however, in black/white (as someone said); it was originally made in color, and has not been colorized.Robert Taylor was remarkable as Lance Poole; the only thing that bothered me were his incredibly beautiful blue eyes; he should have been wearing BROWN contacts! Paula Raymond was just perfect as the young lawyer who tried to help Lance keep his land, and Louis Calhern was so good that I still hate him! The movie was historically accurate, not the story line, but the way things occurred at the time that these events took place -- shortly after the Civil War! I don't think the fate of our Native American population can be compared in any way to that of the African/Americans, since they have come a long way and do take part in things happening here, both culturally and politically. Whereas the Indians have made little, if any progress, and even today the state of the reservations are disgraceful, and among the young men there is an unusually high rate of alcoholism and suicide.The movie was beautifully, and sensitively written and acted, and showed no bias whatsoever -- only the truth.I treasure my copy of Devil's Doorway and have looked for it on DVD, but so far, no luck.This is a marvelous western and ranks with the best! It seems strange it was only up for ONE nomination,which of course it never got! I am sure that anyone seeing it would not be able to forget it!